VIA president Wenchi Chen and his wife, company chairwoman Cher Wang, denied industrial espionage charges in the Taipei District Court, yesterday.

The pair are accused of sending VIA employee Jeremy Chang to work at D-Link in order to acquire test simulation software, Associated Press reported last night. Chang also denies stealing the D-Link code.

A guilty charge, however, could see Wang and Chen facing up to four years in a Taiwanese prison. Chang risks a three-year sentence if the court decides against him.

Chen has been reported as claiming the charges arise from "coincidences and misunderstandings". ®